TEAM COMPARISONS
The Canadiens left San Jose with a much-needed victory on Tuesday. It wasn’t their prettiest win of the season by any stretch of the imagination, but at the end of the day, the two points is what matters most. Now back in the win column, Martin St-Louis’ group will look to build momentum against a stingy Kings team before heading home for another set of back-to-back games on Super Bowl weekend at the Bell Centre.
Los Angeles is currently navigating the rockiest stretch of their season. The Kings have dropped seven of their last 10 games (three by shutout) and are now clinging to a playoff spot. Overall, offense has been hard to come by for Jim Hiller’s side, scoring at a bottom 10 rate, but they’ve made up for it—and then some—at the other end of the rink. Their structured, shutdown system has neutralized opponents’ offense all year, and with Drew Doughty back on the blue line, that trend is likely to continue as they push for yet another playoff appearance in 2025.
SEASON SERIES
Oct. 17 vs. LAK: 4-1 LAK
Feb. 5 @ LAK:
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR
Where there’s a Joel Armia, there’s usually a Jake Evans—especially on the penalty kill. The Canadiens duo have connected for shorthanded tallies in consecutive games and if Armia finds the net while down a man against the Kings, he will become the first player in franchise history to score shorthanded in three straight contests.
Adrian Kempe can score with the best of them, and that holds especially true against the Canadiens. In 12 career games against Montreal, the Swedish forward has eight goals,12 points and a plus-12 differential.
BY THE NUMBERS: HABS-KINGS
Here’s how the Canadiens and Kings match up by the numbers:
